Australian players Taylah Preston, Destanee Aiava, Matt Ebden and Omar Jasika all contested finals this week.
Australia, 16 October 2023 | Leigh Rogers
Australian players continue to shine on the world stage, with 14 advancing to finals at professional events in the past week.
This domination was worldwide too, with these finals taking place across three different continents (Australia, Asia and Europe).
“It’s great for Aussie tennis leading into another Aussie summer in a few months. It’s an exciting time,” said Matt Ebden, who was a doubles finalist at the Shanghai Masters.
In a promising sign for the future, multiple Australians also claimed junior titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour this week.
Meanwhile at the 2023 ITF Masters World Teams Championships in Spain, Australia’s men and women’s team claimed gold in the 65s category. The women’s team in the 70s category earned bronze.
This week’s most outstanding performers include:
Matt Ebden: The 35-year-old was a doubles finalist at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai (China) with India’s Rohan Bopanna. It was the duo’s fifth final of the season and secured their spot at the prestigious ATP Finals next month.
> READ: Ebden and Bopanna qualify for ATP Finals
Rinky Hijikata: The 22-year-old teamed with Brit Cameron Norrie to reach the doubles semifinals at the Shanghai Masters, eliminating two seeded teams along the way. This was Hijikata’s career-best result at ATP Masters 1000 level.
Kimberly Birrell: The 25-year-old advanced to the singles quarterfinals at a WTA 250 tournament in Seoul (Korea). This matched Birrell’s career-best result at tour-level. She also progressed to the doubles quarterfinals alongside American Emina Bektas.
Priscilla Hon: The 25-year-old scored her first WTA-level main-draw singles victory since January 2022, reaching the second round at a WTA 250 tournament in Hong Kong.
Ellen Perez: The 28-year-old qualified at a WTA 500 tournament in Zhengzhou (China), scoring back-to-back singles wins for the first time since May. Her final-round triumph against world No.101 Tamara Korpatsch was her best win, ranking wise, since October 2022.
Andrew Harris and John-Patrick Smith: The Aussie duo finished runners-up in doubles at an ATP Challenger in Malaga (Spain). This was 29-year-old Harris’ eighth doubles final of the season and 34-year-old Smith’s sixth (which includes three in the past three weeks). It was their…
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